The invention relates to an integrated system to mount masts on mobile platforms. The mounting system secures the mast in an approximately horizontal attitude on the vehicle or shelter during storage or transportation. The system may be adapted for mounting on the side, or on the top, of vehicles or shelters. When installed on the military's High Mobility Multi Wheeled Vehicle (with or without shelter attached), hereinafter referred to as "HMMWV", the system is suitable for airlift by military C-130 aircraft and for external airlift by helicopters. During equipment set up, the mounting system permits the mast, with its associated payload, to be safely and expeditiously tilted to the vertical.
Masts have been widely employed for radio antennas, lights and a variety of other fixtures, such as instrumentation and telemetry packages, loud speakers, video cameras, atmospheric detection devices, and similar devices. Many applications involve mobile systems, where it is necessary to deploy the equipment from a secured, strap down condition during transit to a deployed configuration for system operation. The mobile systems used by the military and emergency services may have to be airlifted to a theater of operations. On arrival, they may have to travel cross country, and be set up at a remote site under adverse weather conditions and on sloping terrain.
Large masts with heavy payloads are increasingly in demand to provide a wide variety of services over extended ranges. Because of their length, these masts are often transported in a horizontal attitude attached to the exterior of the vehicle or shelter. It therefore becomes necessary for such masts to be raised to the vertical before they can be put into operation. Combined weight of mast and payload can easily exceed three hundred pounds, generating very large moments which can be hazardous if not managed with care.
For masts which are too long for vertical mounting, it would be highly desirable to provide a horizontal vehicle or shelter mast mounting system which permits safe and expeditious tilting to the vertical using minimum manpower. The mounting system must be easy to use on level or sloping ground and during adverse weather conditions, including strong winds. In the transport mode, the system must be capable of securing the mast under all conditions during off road and on road driving, and also when the vehicle is loaded on a flatbed for road or rail transportation. The system must minimize impact on vehicle handling, and any intrusion into the driver's field of view should be insignificant. For military applications, it would be important for the equipment to be compatible with, and to be economical in the use of, tactical transport aircraft, and to be suitable for external air transport by helicopter.